A Brief History of the Swahili Language

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Origin

The Swahili language, is basically of Bantu (African) origin. It has borrowed words from other
languages such as Arabic probably as a result of the Swahili people using the Quran written in
Arabic for spiritual guidance as Muslims.

As regards the formation of the Swahili culture and language, some scholars attribute these
phenomena to the intercourse of African and Asiatic people on the coast of East Africa. The
word "Swahili" was used by early Arab visitors to the coast and it means "the coast".
Ultimately it came to be applied to the people and the language.

Regarding the history of the Swahili language, the older view linked to the colonial time
asserts that the Swahili language originates from Arabs and Persians who moved to the East
African coast. Given the fact that only the vocabulary can be associated with these groups but
the syntax or grammar of the language is Bantu, this argument has been almost forgotten. It
is well known that any language that has to grow and expand its territories ought to absorb
some vocabulary from other languages in its way.

A suggestion has been made that Swahili is an old language. The earliest known document
recounting the past situation on the East African coast written in the 2nd century AD (in
Greek language by anonymous author at Alexandria in Egypt and it is called the Periplus of
Erythrean Sea) says that merchants visiting the East African coast at that time from
Southern Arabia, used to speak with the natives in their local language and they intermarried
with them. Those that suggest that Swahili is an old language point to this early source for
the possible antiquity of the Swahili language.

Words from Other Languages

It is an undeniable truth that Arab and Persian cultures had the greatest influence on the
Swahili culture and the Swahili language. To demonstrate the contribution of each culture into
the Swahili language, take an example of the numbers as they are spoken in Swahili. "moja" =
one, "mbili" = two, "tatu" = three, "nne" = four, "tano" = five, "nane" = eight, "kumi" = ten,
are all of Bantu origin. On the other hand there is "sita" = six, "saba" = seven and "tisa" =
nine, that are borrowed from Arabic. The Arabic word "tisa" actually replaced the Bantu word
"kenda" for "nine". In some cases the word "kenda" is still used. The Swahili words, "chai" =
tea, "achari" = pickle, "serikali" = government, "diwani" = councillor, "sheha" = village
councillor, are some of the words borrowed from Persian bearing testimony to the older
connections with Persian merchants.
The Swahili language also absorbed words from the Portuguese who controlled the Swahili
coastal towns (c. 1500-1700AD). Some of the words that the Swahili language absorbed from
the Portuguese include "leso" (handkerchief), "meza" (table), "gereza" (prison), "pesa" ('peso',
money), etc. Swahili bull-fighting, still popular on the Pemba island, is also a Portuguese legacy
from that period. The Swahili language also borrowed some words from languages of the later
colonial powers on the East African coast - English (British) and German. Swahilized English
words include "baiskeli" (bicycle), "basi" (bus), "penseli" (pencil), "mashine" (machine), "koti"
(coat), etc. The Swahilized German words include "shule" for school and "hela" for a German
coin.

Spread into the Hinterland

For centuries, Swahili remained as the language for the people of the East African coast.
Long-time interactions with other people bordering the Indian Ocean spread the Swahili
language to distant places such as on the islands of Comoro and Madagascar and even far
beyond to South Africa, Oman and United Arab Emirates. Trade and migration from the
Swahili coast during the nineteenth-century helped spread the language to the interior of
particularly Tanzania. It also reached Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Central African
Rebublic, and Mozambique.

Christian missionaries learnt Swahili as the language of communication to spread the Gospel in
Eastern Africa. So, the missionaries also helped to spread the language. As a matter of fact
the first Swahili-English dictionary was prepared by a missionary. During the colonial time,
Swahili was used for communication with the local inhabitants. Hence the colonial
administrators pioneered the effort of standardizing the Swahili language. Zanzibar was the
epicenter of culture and commerce, therefore colonial administrators selected the dialect of
the Zanzibar (Unguja) town as the standard Swahili. The Unguja dialect (Kiunguja) was then
used for all formal communication such as in schools, in mass media (newspapers and radio), in
books and other publications.

Now Swahili is spoken in many countries of Eastern Africa. For Tanzania, deliberate efforts
were made by the independent nation to promote the language (thanks to the efforts of the
former head of state, Julius K. Nyerere). Tanzania's special relations with countries of
southern Africa was the chief reason behind the spread of Swahili to Zambia, Malawi, South
Africa, and other neighbouring countries to the south. Swahili is the national as well as the
official language in Tanzania - almost all Tanzanians speak Swahili proficiently and are unified
by it. In Kenya, it is the national language, but official correspondence is still conducted in
English. In Uganda, the national language is English but Swahili enjoys a large number of
speakers especially in the military. As a matter of fact, during the Iddi Amin's rule Swahili
was declared the national language of Uganda. However, the declaration has never been
seriously observed nor repealed by the successive governments.

International Presence
 Thus, Swahili is the most widely spoken language of eastern Africa and many world institutions
have responded to its diaspora. It is one of the languages that feature in some world radio
stations such as, the BBC, Radio Cairo (Egypt), the Voice of America (U.S.A.), Radio
Deutschewelle (Germany), Radio Moscow International (Russia), Radio Japan International,
Radio China International, Radio Sudan, and Radio South Africa. The Swahili language is also
making its presence in the art world - in songs, theatres, movies and television programs. For
example, the lyrics for the song titled "Liberian girl" by Michael Jackson has Swahili phrases:
"Nakupenda pia, nakutaka pia, mpenzi we!" (I love you, and I want you, my dear!). The well-
celebrated Disney movie, "The Lion King" features several Swahili words, for example "simba"
(lion), "rafiki" (friend), as the names of the characters. The Swahili phrase "hakuna matata"
(No troubles or no problems) was also used in that movie.

The promotion of the Swahili language is not only in its use but also deliberate efforts are
made throughout the world to include it in education curriculum for higher institutions of
learning. It is taught in many parts of the world.

Authors: Hassan O. Ali; revised by; Abdurahman Juma

List of Swahili Words of Arabic Origin

http://baheyeldin.com/linguistics/list-of-swahili-words-of-arabic-origin.html

Introduction

Swahili is a language that fuses African Bantu with Arabic. Arab sailors and traders have
established links and ties with East Africa for centuries, their language strongly merged with
the local language to produce a creole derivative.

The word Swahili itself is derived from Arabic Sawahili ‫ سواحلي‬which is plural for ‫ساحل‬
meaning [Language] of the Coast.

This article gives some examples of Arabic words still in today's Swahili.

Here are some words.

Swahili Arabic Meaning Swahili Arabic Meaning

hatari ‫خطر‬ Danger.. Saidia ‫ساعد‬ Help

Safari ‫سفر‬ Travel. Also: trip Dunia ‫دني‬ world

mahali ‫محل‬ Place Ridhi ‫رضى‬ consent

Kitabu ‫كتاب‬ Book Jadi ‫جدي‬

msumari ‫مسمار‬ Nail Karatasi ‫قرطاس‬ paper
kata ‫قطع‬ Cut, chop shekhe ‫شيخ‬ cleric

Kula ‫كل‬ Eat Waziri ‫وزير‬ minister

habari ‫خبر‬ news Rais ‫رائس‬ president

huru ‫حر‬ free Jamuhuri ‫جمهور‬ republic

dhamiri ‫ضمير‬ conscience Fedha ‫فضي‬ silver

kamusi ‫قاموس‬ dictionary Mhasibu ‫محاسب‬ accountant

baridi ‫بارد‬ cold Hesabu ‫حساب‬ account

samahani ‫سامحني‬ forgive me, excuse me Haki ‫حق‬ right

rafiki ‫رفيق‬ companion, friend Dini ‫دين‬ religion

tafadhali ‫تفضل‬ please Swali ‫صلي‬ pray

furahi ‫فرح‬ happy mthihani ‫متحان‬ examination

sana ‫صنعة‬ very darasa ‫درس‬ class

hasara ‫خسارة‬ losses Naam ‫نعم‬ certainly (yes)

sababu ‫سبب‬ reason thibiti ‫اثبت‬ Fix/prove

dhahabu ‫ذهب‬ gold ardhi ‫ارض‬ land

dhamana ‫الضمان‬ guarantee sumu ‫سم‬ poison

calamity, disaster, muktasari ‫مختسر‬ summary
msiba ‫مصيبة‬ catastrophe ,misfortune

shughuli ‫شغل‬ work Salama ‫السلم‬ peace

amana ‫امان‬ peaceful subira ‫صبر‬ patience

Muisilamu ‫مسلم‬ Believer in Islamic faith shari ‫الشر‬ evil

Time

The terms for time are strongly influenced by Arabic. Many of it taken by the prayer times of
Islam.

Swahili Arabic Meaning

asubuhi ‫صبح‬ morning

dakika ‫دقيقة‬ minute

saa ‫ساعة‬ hour

wakati ‫وقت‬ time

alfajiri ‫الفجر‬ dawn

adhuhuri ‫الظهر‬ midday

alasri ‫العصر‬ late afternoon

magharibi ‫المغرب‬ sunset

Isha ‫العشاء‬ night

karne ‫قرن‬ century

The Swahili names for the first five days of the week all start with Juma, then the order of
the day of the week, Saturday being the first day of the week. Jumaa is derived from the
Arabic word ‫ جمعة‬which means Friday, as well as "week. Only two days of the week got the
Arabic names:

Swahili Arabic Meaning

‫الخمي‬
alkhamisi Thursday
‫س‬
‫الجمع‬
ijumaa Friday
‫ة‬
Rajabu ‫ رجب‬Arabic calendar month of Rajab ( 7th month)

‫شعبا‬
Shaabani Arabic calendar month of Shaaban ( 8th month)
‫ن‬
‫رمضا‬
Ramadhani Arabic calendar month of Ramadhan ( 9th month) Islamic month of Fasting
‫ن‬
Animal Names

Animal names are all native African Bantu (e.g. simba lion). However, there are a few
exceptions.

Swahili Arabic Meaning

Peacock, being non-native to Africa, it took the Arabic name, which in turn took
Tausi ‫طاوس‬ it from Persian.
samaki ‫سمك‬ fish

Farasi ‫فرس‬ horse

Greetings

Swahili Arabic Meaning

Salama aleiku ‫السلم عليكم‬ Peace be upon you

Msalkheri ‫مسا الخير‬ Good afternoon

subalkheri ‫صباح الخير‬ Good morning

Numbers

The number system is also heavily Arabic, although not exclusively so.

Swahili Arabic Meaning

Half. The proper classical Arabic word is ‫ نصف‬nisf. In many present day dialects
nusu ‫نص‬ it is "nus", like in Swahili.
robo ‫ربع‬ Quarter

sita ‫ستة‬ 6

saba ‫سبعة‬ 7

tisa ‫تسعة‬ 9

ishrini ‫عشرين‬ 20

thalathini ‫ثلثين‬ 30

arubaini ‫أربعين‬ 40

hamsini ‫خمسين‬ 50

sitini ‫ستين‬ 60

sabini ‫سبعين‬ 70

thamanini ‫ثمانين‬ 80

tisini ‫تسعين‬ 90
100. The middle letter in classical Arabic is Hamza, however, in present day
mia ‫مئة‬ dialects, like Swahili, it is a Y sound.
elfu ‫ألف‬ 1000